DARTMOUTH — The Police Department is finding itself at a "desperate crossroads" as unfilled vacancies remain open and a wave of retirements draws closer, Police Chief Timothy Lee said Monday night.

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By MATT CAMARA

southcoasttoday.com

By MATT CAMARA

Posted Mar. 5, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Mar 5, 2013 at 10:53 AM

By MATT CAMARA

Posted Mar. 5, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Mar 5, 2013 at 10:53 AM

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DARTMOUTH — The Police Department is finding itself at a "desperate crossroads" as unfilled vacancies remain open and a wave of retirements draws closer, Police Chief Timothy Lee said Monday night.

Lee's remarks came at a joint meeting of the Select Board, Finance Committee and School Committee as he asked for permission to fill the soon-to-be vacant slots that will be left as three or four officers retire late this year and early next.

"We want them trained before things fall short," Lee told the boards shortly after saying that the large-scale turnover will be a "detriment to (the department's) current service level."

The Police Department, which has about 60 officers, currently has two vacancies and expects to have a third by September. Six to eight months after that, the department will find itself with three or four more empty seats as officers call it a career and head into retirement, Lee said.

Gridlock at the police academy also has the department scrambling to keep its staffing levels stable. The department was locked out of sending officers to an April academy in Plymouth because of how long the waiting list was and now has to focus on getting trainees in September's class. But that could be difficult given that a recent academy had 125 names on a waiting list for 60 seats, Lee said.

The Select Board gave Lee permission to use about $35,000 in town funds to hire the new trainees and prepare them for the academy before the older officers retire, giving the department a chance at a seamless transition.

Select Board member Michael P. Watson called the sum "a small amount" and said it was well worth the price to keep the department functioning.

It takes about a year to take an applicant and make him a police officer, Lee said.

The department also is looking at restructuring itself to give lieutenants greater accountability and to increase the number of sergeants to create a more efficient chain of command, Lee said.

The department now has four lieutenants and seven sergeants but Lee wants to see three lieutenants and 10 sergeants, he said.

Under the current structure, the lieutenants spend less time running shifts and more time acting as sergeants (mid-level supervisors), something the new structure would change, he said.

The new structure also would add the position of detective sergeant; that person would manage the department's detective section, Lee said.

The Select Board also voted to appoint Lt. Robert Szala acting deputy chief because current Deputy Chief Gary Soares will be out for another three months on medical leave. Further details on Soares' leave were unavailable.